Dr. James Walsh, Dept. of History, University of Colorado at Denver, 2012

His verbal, written, and analytic skills are excellent, but his human skills are what sets him apart.  During our time working together, Rob went out of his way to interact with students and connect them with the class materials.  He understands that every student possesses important experiences and values that can be directly linked to the course material for a history class.  Rob is a magician in the way that he can help students to find these connections, to see themselves reflected in the mirror of history.  

Rob doesn’t see students as blank slates to be filled with facts and dates.  Instead, he looks at every student as a buried treasure of experiences and invites students to teach each other.  He enthusiastically participated in a theater project with the students, playing a wide variety of roles to enhance the quality of the plays and ease the anxiety of the students.  His passion for the subject matter flowed directly out of his performances and straight into the students themselves. I have no doubt that wherever Rob ends up teaching, that he will be able to transfer his love for learning to his students, regardless of their age.